Before the Fair Pay Act took effect on January 1, 2016, the law required equal pay for equal work. From a defense perspective, you can argue that the women couldn’t meet that standard. You could argue that the stars of the women’s team, as brilliant as they are, don’t have the speed and power needed to earn a spot on the men’s team.

With the Fair Pay Act, however, you don’t need equal work. You need substantially similar work. For that inquiry, you look at “a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility” and whether the work is “performed under similar working conditions.” I suspect the women would meet that standard.

Disclaimer No. 1: By saying they couldn’t make the men’s team, I’m not denigrating the accomplishments of the US Women’s National Team. They’ve been the best in the world. Those of us who still talk about how close we came to an intramural high school basketball championship are in no position to cast aspersions.

Disclaimer No. 2: I’m not saying the women don’t deserve better treatment and higher pay. I’m just using this to illustrate how the law has changed. While I suspect the dispute will be resolved through negotiation, perhaps in the collective bargaining process, I’m rooting for the USWNT to score this goal.

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